Data theft and ransomware attacks with a direct financial impact on their victims are some of the primary threats that the health care industry is facing. Healthcare was the most affected sector in terms of cyberattacks in 2015, accumulating a total of 253 security holes and 112 million stolen records.

Despite its long history of lucrative attacks and the thousands of people affected by its intrusions, ransomware was given the same treatment as other infractions in the eyes of the The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). This US legislation grants privacy to data and the provision of security to safeguard medical information. Until now, ransomware was part and parcel with the rest of the legislation.

The current scenario calls for greater protection of the multitudes of devices that compose a hospital’s IT infrastructure. The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has declared that ransomware infections constitute a serious violation of the standard. It has been raised to the level of a serious infraction and a breach of cybersecurity.

With the recognition of the activity of encryption (typical of a majority of ransomware incidents) as a form of unauthorized acquisition and diffusion of medical data, ransomware has become subject to HIPPA security rules. This has established the national standards to protect patient information that is stored or transmitted electronically.

Let Us Protect You

If it seems like cybersecurity breaches are a major hassle in themselves, we must now think of the other fiscal penalties that come into play if security protocols are not met. Non-compliance with these protocols could come to light in the event of a cyberattack such as ransomware.

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This solution classifies all active processes in every endpoint, guaranteeing protection against known malware and against threats such as zero-day attacks, Advanced Persistent Threats, and targeted attacks.

Better to prevent infection now than to cure it later.

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